nux bar

i hate it here.

[Jamie Bonkiewicz @JamieBonkiewicz]

Mitch McConnell would’ve replaced Mitch McConnell 39 fucking days ago.

[Sassington, M.C. @MissSassbox]

please let the Artemis II crew know, that some of us have been looking up at the moon, whispering 'goodnight' to them, and hoping they return safely. it's important they know how much they're appreciated for all the hard work they're doing, in addition to just being incredibly cool.

with everything happening down here on Earth, their journey has been such a pleasant experience to look forward to. feeling extremely proud of them all and they've made us appreciate space exploration in a whole new way.

we've loved them to the moon and we're looking forward to loving them when they get back, too.

[Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hadfield]

The crazy, beautiful thin line of air between us and space.
Living in orbit I would often look to Earth's horizon, marvelling at how bizarrely thin our atmosphere is. Half of all air is in the first 3 mi/5 km. A common running distance.
Sometimes big thunderheads were visible, pushing to the edge of the stratosphere. Above that, the coloured aura of the mesosphere, and then eternal empty blackness. Lit by an occasional star, like a small lightbulb in a vast darkened hall.
Let's appreciate and take responsibility for our planet.

[nux bar @nu_xbar]

@volcaholic1 Love your posts! Keep up the good work!

[Jett 🜲 @iky_fwjett]

hard to find the balance between educating yourself on current events and not making yourself so indescribably sad that you can't properly function.

[Climate Dad @ClimateDad77]

We’re being led by the worst people who have ever lived at the most dangerous moment in the history of our species.

[Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton]

It wasn't long ago that women were forced to have a male co-signer to get a credit card or a home loan.

Now, the Trump administration wants to end protections against such discrimination.

Take 45 seconds today to say "No way." https://t.co/dXGa0WKXUJ

[Climate Dad @ClimateDad77]

The homes of a quarter of the animals that live in our oceans. Gone forever.

We should grieve & know that these tipping points are gonna fall like dominoes.

Now is not the time for ‘carrying on as normal’.

All our homes are at risk.

[nux bar @nu_xbar]

@Friesein Publix in Cary, NC, thanks to your posts

[Anonymous @YourAnonNews]

The USA meets every single one of these conditions. Not just one. Every. Single. One.

[DrDemetre @dr_demetre]

My resignation letter from CDC.

Dear Dr. Houry,

I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.   I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested.

This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people.  This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles.

I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.   The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership.  This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors.  Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.

It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC.  The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense.  Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function.  Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC.

The recent term of reference for the COVID vaccine work group created by this ACIP puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.   Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.  Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc.

I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again.  I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season.  Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.”  We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary.  I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us.  Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources.  At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.  To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information.

The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer.  I believe in nutrition and exercise.  I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability.  Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed.

For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics.  I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision.

Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically.

Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution.  If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.

Sincerely,

Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)

[Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) 🪬 @DoctorVive]

Global average temperature is expected to rise to almost 2C above preindustrial in the next five years, according to the WMO, with falls in crop yields and more than a third of the world’s population being exposed to extreme heat.

People, we are in danger.

[Miles Brundage @Miles_Brundage]

Not sure why the gutting of American science funding isn’t a bigger story.

No one voted for it, it reduces American innovation and economic competitiveness in the near-term and long-term, and it isn’t even being done efficiently, if that were in fact the goal.

[tern @1goodtern]

There's a big danger here.

You might look at Trump's cabinet and the surrounding entourage and think that they're laughable and incompetent grifters, alcoholics, misogynists, racists, rejects, losers, and failures, and that because of that, they can't cause much harm.

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

DOGE is gaining total control over key government computer systems—and there may be no way to wrest it back, Charlie Warzel, @ibogost, and @matteo_wong write. https://t.co/l4pUBwD0WI

[ARCHIVED - NASA Climate @NASAClimate]

2024 was the hottest year in NASA’s record, which starts in 1880. Global temperatures were around 1.28 degrees Celsius (2.30 degrees Fahrenheit) higher in 2024 than the 1951-1980 average, the baseline period used in GISTEMP.

[Laurie Garrett @Laurie_Garrett]

Elon Musk's #SpaceX launches 40 satellites/week into low Earth orbiut: they're ruining astronomy research. The new #Starlink satellites produce 32Xs more radio noise than their predecessors, interfering with radio astronomy observations. https://t.co/JIwSRjSFzZ

[Sarah Ironside 💙 @SarahIronside6]

Do you know what would be really cool? If Biden and the Democrats currently in office would fight back and FUCKING DO SOMETHING!

[John Bonifaz @JohnBonifaz]

BREAKING: A group of computer security experts have just issued a letter to VP Harris urging that she initiate recounts in key states in light of the extraordinary breaches of voting system software by Trump operatives following the 2020 election. https://t.co/N6FF8n6qF7 @FSFP

[nux bar @nu_xbar]

#Recount2024